THE RAPE OF THE LOCK BY ALEXANDER POPE

Sol through white curtains shot a timorous ray,
And opened those eyes that must eclipse the day:
No lap-dogs give themselves the rousing shake,
And sleepless lovers, just at twelve, awake:

Sol through white .......... just at twelve, awake:

REFERENCE
(i) Poem: The Rape of the Lock
(ii) Poet: Alexander Pope
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Canto I
(ii) Content: Belinda arises to prepare for the day's social activities. After an elaborate ritual of dressing and primping, she travels on the Thames River of Hampton Court Palace, where a group of wealthy young societies are gathering for a party. Among them is the Baron, who has already made up his mind to steal a lock of Belinda's hair. At party, the Baron takes up a pair of scissors and cuts off the coveted lock of Belinda's hair. Belinda is furious. She initiates a scuffle between the ladies and the gentlemen to recover the severed curl. The lock is lost in the confusion of this mock battle.
EXPLANATION
     In these lines the poet describes the beauty of Belinda and satirizes the idleness, late rising and fondness for domestic pets of the aristocratic ladies. "Sol" in the very first line is a personification of the sun, and Pope makes him seem almost shy to be peeking into Belinda's window, as if he is afraid to disturb the sleeping Belinda in her London home. And indeed he should be. The very next line uses a metaphor to compare Belinda's own eyes to the sun, in fact, her eyes are more beautiful (they "must eclipse the Day") than he is. He recognizes in Belinda a rival. Belinda is hardly waking up with the dawn, though: these lines tell us that, like the pampered lapdogs owned by the 18th-century upper classes, or the sleepless lovers who don't need to work and so they have the energy to stay awake all night thinking about romance, it's closer to noon. In fact, these lines are the opening of action for this epic.

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